Greene County Bancshares to Unify Its Banking Brands.

All Company Banks to Be Rebranded under the Name GreenBank

GCBS Announces New Branding Program

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. -- Greeneville, Tennessee-based Greene County Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: GCBS), today announced that the Company will adopt a new name, GreenBank, for its banking operations system-wide. With branches throughout East and Middle Tennessee, as well as one each in Bristol, Virginia, and western North Carolina, the Company presently operates under 18 distinct bank names. By embracing one common identity across all of its markets, this rebranding effort will help convey the fundamental convenience offered by 51 bank offices that span a 400-mile region.

"We are excited to announce this new name for our Company's banking operations," Stan Puckett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said. "The legacy of Greene County Bank goes back almost 120 years, so we were naturally cautious in making this move. At the same time, we recognized the importance of having our customers and potential customers experience the true convenience, breadth and scope of our banking network, which were obscured by our organization operating under 18 different names. With the selection of GreenBank as our new name, we have held on to our heritage while underscoring the potential of our financial service capabilities.

"As one of the largest banking organizations headquartered in Tennessee, we have devoted a great deal of effort over the past few years to enhance the convenience factor for our customers," Puckett continued. "We've extended our banking days in most of our markets to include early morning and evening hours, even weekend hours on Saturdays and Sundays in select areas, and have implemented a number of other initiatives to differentiate ourselves.

"We are pleased with the response we have received from our customers as we have worked to fortify the concepts of convenience and simplicity within our approach to community-based banking," he added. "In fact, to signify our passion for this cause, we recently registered our new slogan, 'Tennessee's Most Convenient Bank[TM].' With today's announcement, we embark on the next extension of this drive for convenience, unifying all of our banking operations under one new system-wide brand. This step will add greater visibility to the reach of our bank, clearly demonstrating, for instance, the convenience that our customers in Morristown will have in finding one of our drive-thru locations in Clarksville, or those in Nashville will have in finding one of our ATMs in Knoxville. That convenience exists now, but by rebranding our operations under the GreenBank name, we will better articulate that message to consumers, further emphasizing our leadership role as Tennessee's most convenient bank."

The rebranding effort, under the GreenBank name, already has begun with the development of a new common logo and identity program. The Company will initiate advertising and media support for GreenBank next month, and signage changes at the branches are expected to be completed in April 2007.

Greeneville, Tennessee-based Greene County Bancshares, Inc., with total assets of approximately $1.727 billion, is the holding company for Greene County Bank. Greene County Bank, founded in 1890, has 49 branches throughout East and Middle Tennessee, one branch each in Bristol, Virginia, and Hot Springs, North Carolina, and a wealth management office in Lebanon, Tennessee. In addition, Greene County Bank also conducts separate businesses through three wholly owned subsidiaries: Superior Financial Services, Inc., a consumer finance company; GCB Acceptance Corporation, a consumer finance company specializing in subprime automobile lending; and Fairway Title Co., a title insurance company.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements regarding Greene County Bancshares, Inc., as defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty and actual results could differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements. A discussion of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements is included in the Greene County Bancshares, Inc. filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.